


Glitter In The Air

by Cupcakemolotov



Series: come alive [10]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Caroline as the Tribute, F/M, Klaus as the Goblin King, Magic, No Smut, The Labyrinth - Freeform, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 13:02:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14112903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cupcakemolotov/pseuds/Cupcakemolotov
Summary: The Labyrinth keeps what belongs to it.





	Glitter In The Air

**Author's Note:**

  * For [willowaus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/willowaus/gifts).



> I broke my rule regarding stories based on movies. But it was for willowaus and her klarolinegivesback request. This is loosely based on The Labyrinth, which was released in 1986 and direct by Jim Henson. If you haven't seen it, all I can say is David Bowie in those pants.

Knuckles throbbing, Caroline raced barefoot down an endless hallway. She'd no idea where her shoes had gone, but every frantic instinct she possessed was screaming to run. Away from the unknown bed she woke in with the stranger staring down at her.

So she did.

A door caught her eye and she pried it open and slammed it behind her, breath heaving in her oxygen starved lungs. Turning, she went to continue her flight and froze. Lips parting, heart pounding loudly in her ears, she slowly sank to the floor.

Staircases.

The room was filled with beautiful stone staircases, and they seemed to disobey any laws of gravity. They curved upside down, twisted into impossible spirals, and wrapped along the underside of sheer surfaces.

As the adrenaline faded, leaving behind panic and confusion, Caroline realized the air was catching the light in ways that were _impossible_. Blinking, she caught her lip tightly between her teeth.

She'd seen this room before. It was a distant thought, an echo of her childhood or an old painting. She couldn't quite remember the details, but this… she _knew_ this.

"Where the _fuck_ am I?"

"This particular room is called the Escher room. It's part of my domain, little human."

Caroline shot to her feet, twisted on her toes to face the man she'd punched. She'd seen him go down, knew she'd cold clocked him. Her hand throbbed enough that he should've been sporting some kind of mark.

Glittering blue eyes, wild curls, and pointed ears. Caroline blinked twice, eyes going wide as her gaze darted back to those ears. She took a single step back, swallowing. "Fuck."

A blade of a smile softened by intriguing dimples, and she inched further back as he bowed. "Welcome to the Labyrinth. I'm Klaus, the Goblin King."

"Abductor of unsuspecting women?" Caroline demanded, keeping her weight on her toes.

"You've been offered as tribute," he said tone surprisingly mild.

"Like hell I have," she snapped, eyes narrowing. "Take me home!"

A sudden sound vibrated the very air around them. She winced, clapping her hands over her ears and that bladed smile sharpened.

"It looks like Elena Gilbert has chosen to run the maze. She has thirteen hours. If she is successful, then you are both free to return home. If she is not…"

Caroline took a step forward, eyes snapping. "I'm not staying here."

He shrugged. "Can you even find your way out if this room?"

He disappeared without a sound and she gasped. Worse, the door behind him had disappeared as well. Hand going to her mouth, she turned and stared at winding room and swallowed.

Now what?

* * *

Caroline had stopped believing in fairy tales when she was sudden caught in a nasty custody battle between her parents. Her mom the cop, her dad the businessman who was never home. In the end she stayed with her mom, spent summers with her dad, and was so alone her bones ached. For a little while, she buried that hurt in stories, hunting for mermaids in creek beds and listening for howls in the woods.

When she was fourteen and gangly, she put away her princess books, her colorful binders and changed tracks. Her mom didn't have time for fanciful stories, so neither did she. Plain binders, rulers and organizational charts took over her life. She found that she was so much better at being practical, but those summers looking for magic never quite left her. So when she graduated college, she stared down at Jeremy Gilbert as he offered her a ring.

For that single moment, she saw her future ahead of her; endless sporting events with her children, never ending Gilbert Family gatherings. A lifetime of excusing one drug addict sister and pretending that the spoiled Elena mattered to her.

Boring.

Her future looked hideously boring and she panicked. With a dry throat and soft words, she broke a good man's heart. She said no.

Caroline moved to London.

Packed up her things, quit her job and just left everything behind. The visa took some doing, but she made it work. And living a country that boasted green hills and the land of fairies, it brought back a little of that old, childhood magic.

"I should have married Jeremy," Caroline whispered to herself. Except she couldn't turn back the clock and even now, she found herself unable to regret more than hurting him. Pushing back those memories, she took a slow breath, her eyes clenched tightly.

She'd found if she didn't look, each slow step became less terrifying. There was nothing normal or human about walking on an upside down staircase, her hair hanging into the drop below her. As long as her eyes stayed shut, she could pretend the staircase was just the one in the Lockwood Mansion and not throw up.

She might punch that ass in the face for this, but there was no way in hell she was puking up her guts. She was going home. If she had to crawl her way out of here, she would.

That first step had been a near thing.

Cracking her eyes open, she took a quick look to see where she was and her eyes stayed open without her permission. A gasp catching in her throat, she looked around at the world and a laugh bubbled in her chest. Lip between her teeth, she stared at the ceiling from her position on the arch of the staircase and inexplicably smiled. Reached out both hands to try to catch one of those burning flecks in the air.

_Magic_.

It was _real_.

Eyes narrowing as she thought of this Klaus, of Elena Gilbert somehow being involved in this madness and her joy vanished. Jaw firming, she set off with quick strides through the staircases.

So she _wasn_ 't going to make it out _was she_?

When her feet touched the ground she scowled furiously at the wall in front of her. Careful fingertips touched the wall, and she leaned close when she found it warm. God, why couldn't she have studied mythology or taken at least one English Lit class in college? Magic wasn't her strong point. If this nut job needed his library organized or needed someone to figure out place settings, she could totally do that.

But magic?

Sighing, she frantically tried to remember her bedtime stories from her childhood. Not the Disney ones, but the ones her dad used to tell her that gave her nightmares.

Fuck it.

Her mom always said you could afford to be nice, mean was always easy later. Labyrinths were supposed to be alive or something right? Her World History class had been ages ago and at eight A.M. but she remembered something about that…

"I'm terribly sorry," Caroline to the wall. Her voice wavered and she swallowed before clearing her throat again. Did it matter if she seemed ridiculous? "Would you mind if I could please have a door? The staircases are lovely, but I've never been in a magical castle before. Can I see more?"

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then a door appeared.

Oh, boy

* * *

Klaus stared moodily across the expanse of the Labyrinth. The skies were dark, the sky deepening with a brewing storm. He could hear her groans as she shifted, his Labyrinth, the breathtaking scenery shifting to something suitable to scare an adult. There was darkness blooming in the heart of his maze, and he was intrigued by it.

It'd been some time since an adult had called upon his magic. Elena Gilbert was spiteful, filled with a curious anger and endless guilt, all of it directed at the golden haired woman who had caught him by complete surprise.

He touched his jaw, lips quirking at the memory of that punch. How startled she been to see him, disbelief buried under a fierceness he admired.

Not that it mattered.

A quick look into Caroline Forbes' life has shown him a life well regimented. He doubted there was any room for dreams and the playfulness of a maze so old, his own people had forgotten what she was capable of. Klaus had spent eons at her heart, and would remain until the stars crumbled.

The Labyrinth called to dreamers. Hunted for them though the human realm. The villagers that housed those rare humans who mingled easily with goblins and the strange, often dangerous citizens who lived with the ever changing Labyrinth. When he'd felt the first tug of being summoned after so many years, he'd been intrigued.

Very few dared to call on the old magic in the world. Not since religion and iron had sent his brethren running, his family desperate for the protection his magic provided so many years after they'd cursed him with this kingdom. But Klaus had found redemption here, in the old stones and changing landscapes, had found power his father had once mocked. Now, eons had past, and they lived in their underhills, magic crippled by their own limitations while he flourished.

Human are such interesting creatures.

Finding a woman grown calling on his power, a golden haired temptation waiting upon his return was completely outside the norm. It was the only reason that punch had caught him. Looking at a clock, his lips curled. Almost time to check up on his runner.

But first, he'd see how Caroline was faring.

Klaus wondered how that logical brain examined the magic in the Escher room?

* * *

"What are you doing in _here_?"

Caroline looked up to see the Goblin King striding towards her, eyes glittering. For a moment, the way that shirt and those ridiculous pants clung to him distracted her. He was surprisingly gorgeous, despite his clothing, even as he glared at her all menacing.

She liked his eyes.

"Oh, it's you," Caroline dismissed before turning her gaze back to the stacks and stacks of books so perfectly organized. She couldn't read their titles, but everything seemed to have its place. If there was a couch, she'd nap in this room. Instead, she apologized profusely to the air and crawled onto a table to just _look_.

She didn't trust the floor or the books. No way she was touching any of them. With the way her day was going, she get sucked into one and and never escape.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

She sighed and glanced at him, and startled to find him so close. For a moment she stared at him, the scent she couldn't name that he brought with him filling her lungs. There was something about his eyes she couldn't read and she glared right back. _Personal space_.

"Do people occupy this castle? Or is it just big enough to house you and your ego? I'm assuming it's a castle, I'm having a hard time finding _windows_."

"Having a…" His words died abruptly, and his head tilted. Those alien eyes burned through her and she stubbornly held his gaze. "How did you find your way here?"

Caroline made a put upon noise. "Well, after you locked me in the staircase room…"

"I did no such thing," he denied, arms crossing. He stared at her, and awareness crackled down her spine.

"You made a dramatic, glittery exit and the doors went with you? I'm pretty sure we can add holding me hostage to my list of grievances with you."

"You have a list?" He sounded momentarily bemused.

Caroline held up her left hand, using her fingers to emphasize each point. "You abducted me. I'm a magical hostage. You don't have the decency to stay unconscious."

Both of his brows arched. "Interesting, that you blame me for your appearance here."

"Should I blame someone else?"

"The Labyrinth is old, and her magic is peculiar. Do you think it so easy, to catch her attention? That it is just a simple matter of saying the right words? There are certain lures, scattered throughout the world, but those target dreamers. Children and adolescents who have no idea the power they carry. The magic they shape. Rare, to find adults who hold dreaming precious. Elena Gilbert is not one of them."

That stung, his belief that she didn't have dreams. That hers weren't strong enough to merit this magical world. Caroline lifted her chin. Even if true, he was still an _ass_.

"Great - Elena and I aren't dreamers. Are you _sure_? Elena has always had her head in the clouds. Maybe you just didn't know about her?"

"I'm rarely wrong about a maze runner," Klaus turned his gaze to the wall, brows furrowed. "The Labyrinth has a darkness to it that I haven't seen in centuries. It'll be interesting, peeling away her layers until we come to the truth of this situation."

That sounded fun. Not.

"Well, it's been what, an hour? Two? Maybe you should go bother her instead of me. I don't ask for any of this, much less being _harassed_."

He glanced at her, a sharpness behind his eyes. "No? Perhaps not, but I'm curious, Caroline Forbes, as to what it is about you that drove Ms. Gilbert to wishing you away."

She straightened, eyes snapping with temper as he twisted his hand, a curious globe suddenly rolling across his knuckles. She might have caught flashes of something inside, but she refused to look too hard.

" _I didn't tell you my name!"_

Another of those bladed smiles and her knuckles throbbed in warning as she fisted her right hand. "I know a great deal about anyone in the Labyrinth, love. Let's put you somewhere you can stay out of trouble."

He tossed the crystal and she yelped, sliding back to avoid the glass, but it shattered into brilliant sparks of magic and the world went sideways. The strangled scream in her throat was followed by echoing laughter as she landed on a bed. A quick glance showed her there was a continued lack of windows, and she cursed the air blue.

_That ass._

* * *

Maybe it was petty, dropping her back into her room without any warning, but that didn't stop his smile at her cry of alarm. He hesitated for a moment, studied her through a crystal as she swore colorfully. She'd made it out of the Escher room, and had found his library. The look of wonder, the curling smile on her truly lovely face shouldn't have caught him so tightly in the chest.

Beautiful humans had walked his Labyrinth before. Perhaps they hadn't carried sunshine hair and spitting eyes, but they had come. And none had faced him with such a lack of concern of his magic or temper. This one was too sharp, too organized…

Yet…

Curious, that she wasn't being granted a view of the labyrinth. He made a mental note to look into that a little more when he'd a chance. The Labyrinth loved to preen.

A puzzle for later.

Elena Gilbert was moving at a slow, steady pace once she'd figured out the actual entrance to the maze; well, the false entrance that lead to the winding paths. In all his years, he'd only had a single runner back track on the word of the labyrinth's inhabitants suggestion. He lived near the edge of the maze, and could be found most days strolling through the Firey's woods.

Twisting a crystal, he studied his runner with narrowed eyes. Those tears seemed genuine as Elena had sat down in front of the The Four Guards; her helpless frustration a familiar sight. But while his Lady Labyrinth did not speak in many words, she was capable of expressing herself just fine.

And the continued darkness told him much.

His eyes flicked to the clock and he threw up his feet. Eight hours to go, and he wasn't sure this would be one of the successful runs. Pity. Although bothering Caroline was nearly as entertaining as the small, curious children he usually had with him.

Bored, he spun a crystal and looked in on Caroline. Expecting to find her asleep or pacing, both brows arched high as he realized her room was empty. Feet landing on the floor, Klaus glared to the empty room.

And where was his little human guest now?

* * *

If the pointy-eared, gorgeous hobgoblin thought she was staying in her room like a good little captive, he was going to be in for a surprise. A very polite request to please, please let her go outside had ended up with a door to a hallway and a staircase that went had gone down forever. Where had he put her? A tower?

How fairytale villain of him.

Especially considering those _pants_.

But after the endless climb down, she eased open a door and grinned at the sight of a garden. Walking out gingerly, her bare feet sank into lush grass. Laughing, she twisted around and backed up. Looking up at the impressive castle, she moved a few feet away and felt her breath catch in her throat.

Expanding out in every direction was what seemed like an endless maze. While it was sunny where she stood, it was a storm around them. Wild winds tore at trees and lightning flashes in the sky. The air smelled like rain and she shivered.

"That's the maze?" She murmured, arms folding around her waist.

"A Labyrinth isn't supposed to be easy," Klaus' voice said from behind her. She nearly jumped, but caught herself. Grumbling, she closed her eyes. His voice really was unfair.

" _Must_ you keep following me?"

A snort, and Klaus strolled into her peripheral vision and Caroline twisted her head to stare. Then she started laughing, hard enough that she bent over at the waist, hair falling into her face.

"Are you done?"

"What," Caroline gasped, wiping her eyes. "Are you _wearing_?"

"Elena Gilbert's idea of what a villain should be wearing," Klaus said with a shrug. "It's not the worst outfit."

"Oh god, please, go back to the other pants. I can't look at you." She squeezed her eyes shut as laughter bubbled in her chest. "Please."

A soft noise, like glitter in the air, and she peaked open an eye to see him in something much simpler. Caroline wasn't sure if that was better, with his wild hair and feral eyes.

"How did you find your way into the garden, Caroline?"

She blinked at the edge to his voice. The glitter behind his eyes. "I asked."

"Asked _who_?"

"Don't growl at me," she said firmly. "And how am I supposed to know? I just asked, okay? Whatever invisible person/spell/thing is listening, responds really well to politeness. Have you tried that lately, being polite?"

"That's impossible," Klaus dismissed, the bones of his cheekbones sharp with temper.

Caroline compressed her lips to corral her temper before she spoke. "Pity asking this place to drop something on your head would be _rude_."

Those gorgeous eyes narrowed, until he was sudden watching her through his lashes; he stepped into her personal space. There air changed between them, unexpected sparks playing against her nerves. "If remember correctly, sweetheart, you punched me. Was that not rude?"

Her mouth ran dry, breath catching in her lungs. There was no way he was flirting with lifted her him and waved him off, barely masking a wince. "You big baby, you scared me, that was entirely your fault. _What_ …"

Her words died as he caught her right wrist with his gloved hand, turned her arm over as his fingers came up to touch her angry knuckles. Awareness shivered down her spine.

"What are you doing?" Her voice had a faint rasp to his she hoped he didn't catch.

Klaus made a low, impatient noise and dropped her hand to peel off his gloves. Caroline sucked in surprised breath, as he reached for her hand again, his skin shockingly warm. She went still as he traced bruised and broken skin with calloused fingertips.

"You should have said something," he murmured, the bladed edge of his voice gone, replaced with something softer, rougher.

"Your jaw is as stubborn as you are," she said, ignoring the tremor in her voice. "It's fine."

He glanced up at her, amusement plain on his face. "And I'm stubborn, love?"

Caroline shrugged, tried to ignore the flip of her stomach at that casual _love_. "I've had worse. Some ice and…"

Her words died as heat flared out, and his fingers skimmed bone and tendon. The ache disappeared, the worst of the redness fading until her fingers were undamaged. She stared at her hand in stunned silence.

"You're probably hungry."

Her hand was tingling and she swallowed hard. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I was told something about eating Goblin Fruit. Pretty sure it was a no."

Did it say anything about Goblin Men?

The smile the curled his lips was wicked. "' _One must not look at Goblin men; one must not buy their fruit_.' Christina Rossetti had an interesting perspective, considering she'd never run the Labyrinth. And I'm not a Goblin, Caroline."

Caroline tugged her hand free, shivered at the way his fingers dragged across her skin. She failed at hiding her curiosity as she glanced at him from under her lashes. "Do you spend a lot of time reading human books?"

Something about that searching gaze left her breath hitching in her lungs. His thoughtful gaze skimmed her face and it was her imagination that he lingered on her lips. Before he could answer, something boomed through the air. Klaus head snapped around and he narrowed his gaze, temper turning his eyes brilliant.

Her breath caught.

"Go inside and stay _there_ this time."

Caroline turned and looked at the maze and swallowed. The air was churning. She couldn't help but hope Elena was okay.

* * *

Klaus stared at the human girl watching him with frightened eyes. The oubliette was flared with light, the usual darkness banished as the broken, tear stained face stared at him.

"What did you do?"

Elena started sobbing, and Klaus ground his teeth. He didn't have time for this. The clock was ticking down, hours to go, but instinct was itching at him.

"She said she wouldn't hurt her."

Klaus narrowed his eyes, head angling. "I beg pardon?"

"She was going to kill Jeremy. I didn't know what else to do."

"Jeremy?" Klaus cocked his head, recognition flaring in the back of his brain. "Jeremy Gilbert ran the Labyrinth."

Elena let out a wet noise. "For Vicky."

"How is it, that I did not recognize you?" Klaus murmured. "You should be familiar to my magic"

"She changed me. It hurt."

Klaus stared at her, magic pulsing in warning. "Who?"

"I don't know, but she had my face." Another heaving sob. "She had _my face_. She needed a runner and Caroline broke Jeremy's heart, and I just want to go _home_."

He went utterly still. "You're a doppelganger?"

"What does that even _mean_?"

But Klaus had already vanished.

* * *

"So you're Caroline."

Caroline turned from where she'd been wandering down a hall, trying to find the stairs that led to her room. Elena was walking towards her, lips curled in a smile that left her wary.

"Elena?"

"Not quite."

There was a glitter and then fire exploded in her stomach and Caroline went down. She blinked at what looked like a hilt and tried to find air, but there was none. Agony clawed into her gut and the tears that filled her eyes burned.

A soft, gentle fingertip caught them and then this monster with Elena's face licked her finger clean. "No hard feelings, pretty girl? I've been paid an excellent sum for this, and you're just collateral damage."

Hands coming up to press against the blood, she stared with shocked eyes as Elena smiled at her.

"Not even the Goblin King can heal a wound caused with cold iron." She clucked her tongue. "He doesn't even know I'm here and that silky chit is stuck in an oubliette. Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't die alone."

It hurt, it hurt so much but she glared at the monster in front of her and hissed out between her teeth. "Go to hell."

"Such spirit," her head tilted, long hair falling perfectly across one shoulder. "You're a fascinating little bit of sunshine, aren't you? Oh, how the Labyrinth will eat itself in rage at how close it was. So close."

" _Katerina."_

A flash of lightning, and Klaus was there. His eyes glittered with golden sparks and his curls moved in an invisible wind. Caroline sucked in one shocked breath, couldn't manage another.

"You lose, Goblin King," Katerina laughed, jumping to her feet eyes wild. "The tribute dies! Not even you can move the stars to save her!"

A flick of his wrist, and Katerina screamed as she disappeared. Klaus was suddenly in front of her, holding her face. " _Caroline_."

She blinked, trying to focus. "Is… Elena o-kay?"

He hissed, a noise she didn't expect and stared at her with a white face. The air started to shift, and she thought she heard thunder in the distance. But she couldn't look away from the wild eyes boring into her.

"I need you to keep looking at me, sweetheart."

She let her eyes drift close instead. Everything was going ice cold, and the pain was fading. She tried to tell him it was okay, but she wasn't sure she managed. The heat of his hands didn't fade as she went under, and the last few words she heard she didn't understand.

* * *

Caroline woke with a gasp, hand flying to her stomach. She was in her flat, her alarm blaring in the background and she stared blurry eyed at it until she finally realized she needed to turn it off. Rubbing her eyes warily, she slipped out of bed and headed for the kitchen.

It'd been a week since she'd woken exactly like today, gasping for air and crying. Thankfully, she hadn't repeated the tears, but the she couldn't shake the dreams

Elena wasn't answering her phone calls.

She wasn't brave enough to call Jeremy.

Honestly, she'd just brush the whole thing off as too much champagne or a really vivid dream. Except sometimes she swore she could see little glimmers of light. Like glitter.

Huffing, she slammed the kettle onto the stove and shivered. A sudden, unexpected knock on her door went unanswered. She did not have the patience to deal with one of her neighbors complaining about her hours again.

Another, more insistent knock and she ground teeth. Stomping into her foyer, not caring if she was disturbing anyone else, she yanked the door open. "What?"

The rest of her temper died as she found herself staring into a pair of brilliant, alien eyes. Her lips parted, and she gaped at the sight of Klaus, decked out in a sweater and jeans, the leather cords of necklaces around his neck.

"Hello, Caroline."

"Klaus," she managed, sounding as bewildered as she felt. "What…"

One side of his mouth curled, and heat unexpectedly curled in her stomach. "Are you going to invite me in?"

"I don't know," she informed him, eyes narrowed. "Is this like a vampire thing? Once I invite you in, you're like a cockroach and you never leave?"

His smile widened, the faintest hint of dimples in his cheeks. "That's hardly flattering, love. And this time, no. It's a one time visit, if you will."

Disappointment was sudden and unexpected. She turned on her heel to hide it and headed into the kitchen to finish making tea. "Fine. Come in."

"Thank you," Klaus murmured as he shut the door. He trailed behind her, eyes dragging over her things before he joined her.

"So why are you here?" Caroline said finally. "Elena isn't returning my calls. Do you know anything about that?"

"She'll be home soon enough."

She spun and glared at him, mug being set down hard. "Excuse me?"

Klaus shrugged. "She cheated."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "You're unbelievable."

He was suddenly close enough to cup her jaw with one are hand, stare down at her face imperiously. "You nearly died."

"Yet," She said coolly, "I'm not the one holding the grudge."

"I will release her as soon as the Labyrinth releases her into my care," he said blithely. "Magic has consequences, sweetheart."

"What happened," she murmured, eyes searching his face. "After I was stabbed?"

His face darkened, eyes flecked with gold. "I moved the stars."

"What does that mean?"

He released her, face closing off. "Unfortunately, it appears I was in fact wrong about you."

"Are we talking in circles? What are you talking about?" Caroline rubbed her face, ignoring the lingering heat of his hand. "You're still not making sense!"

"You are a dreamer," Klaus said softly, voice low and rough. When she looked at him, his pupils were wide and his gaze wanting. "Oh, how you dream, Caroline Forbes."

It was hard to think under that look.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He laughed, the whites of his canines sharp. "No? You tucked it away between organizational charts and perfect coordination, but you never buried it. And I'd have overlooked it, let it stay hidden, golden in its hiding place. Thankfully, the Labyrinth remains older and wiser than I."

"Tucked what away?"

He smiled, a predatory, feral thing that spoke of hunting and left her skin prickling. "Your heart."

She narrowed her gaze. "My heart is none of your business, buddy."

That smile lingered. "I'm here to offer you a choice."

Her pulse picked up, as his head tilted. Licking dry lips, she leaned against her counter. "A choice?"

"There are… rules, to running the Labyrinth. Occasionally, they are bent." Klaus stuck his hands into his pockets, but regardless of his very human clothing, he looked anything but in that moment. "You're such a case."

"Because I was hurt?"

"Because you see magic," Klaus said calmly. "And magic sees you."

She stared at him. "What is your offer?"

He offered her his palm, smile a temptation. "Come back with me"

"And what?" She breathed. "Stay there? Give up everything here? What would I even do there?"

Something curious flickered behind his gaze, that hunting edge hiding some emotion she couldn't read. "You'll find there are others, whose dreams are too strong for this realm. And you could do whatever you wanted. But magic lingers in your bones now, Caroline Forbes. It crawls in your veins. I think you'd find a home in the Labyrinth, if you'd let it."

"Uh huh," she sat her hands on her hips. "And Katerina? Whoever it was that hired her to kill your tribute? Don't look so surprised, it's not like I've done much but relive everything for the last week. What about them?"

"You're going to be difficult, aren't you?"

She grinned at him, and his lashes moved, as if as if he was startled by it. "Yup."

His wrist turned, the crystal ball spinning across his knuckles. His gaze held hard as he tossed it. She jumped as the world changed, brilliant golden sky and endless maze opening up before her. Klaus stepped against her spine and her eyes widened as his lips ghosted across her ear.

"Welcome to the Labyrinth, Caroline."

* * *

_**Please Comment** _


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